


Hairless Cat

by crocodilepatronus



Category: Smallville
Genre: Cats, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2019-03-08 01:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13447296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crocodilepatronus/pseuds/crocodilepatronus
Summary: one day Clark Kent rescues a hairless cat from a river....





	Hairless Cat

It was a beautiful clear day in Kansas but Clark was morose. It was the first day of the new semester but some things always stayed frustratingly the same. Lana Lang would always be unattainable to him- she made him so nervous he could barely stay upright when he was near her. His father still wouldn’t let him join the football team even though it was his only hope of standing out or being cool.

 

He was taking a break on his walk home from school to look out across the bridge and watch the river sparkle under the sunlight.

 

But as he was reflecting on the trials and tribulations of teenage life, he heard a sound. A sort of pitiful yowling coming from down below. When he leaned far over and looked, he saw that struggling in the river was an animal.

 

Clark was sort of famous in Smallville for rescuing animals. It had almost become a joke. If there was ever a cat stuck in a tree or a dog run away from its owner, Clark was always the one who ended up saving them.

 

He immediately without a second thought ran to the side of the river and threw off his shoes and jacket to dive in. Being autumn the water was still cold and very choppy. But he managed to get to the crying animal and grab it, pulling it to his chest and swimming to shore.

 

The little bundle in his arms ended up being a cat- but not like one Clark had ever seen. This cat was slender and had bright, blue grey eyes, but it didn’t have any fur on its body.

 

* * *

 

 

“Well that’s not something you see everyday.” Martha said at the cat swaddled in hand towels on her kitchen counter.

 

“I pulled him out of the river.” Clark said, rubbing the towels against the little furless creature. “Poor thing.”

 

Martha sat down and leaned over to get a closer look. “They’re called sphynx cats. They’re born without any hair. He has to be someone’s pet. Unusual though. I wouldn’t think of anyone in Smallville of all places having a cat like this.”

 

The cat made a low purring noise and nuzzled further against the fuzzy, red, towel he was wrapped in as Martha gave him a little scratch behind the ears.

 

“You might want to put some posters up in town saying you found him. And I’ll ask around.”

 

“We can keep him here for now though, right?” Clark asked eagerly, flashing his mother the big pleading blue eyes.

 

Martha smiled gently at her son. This certainly wasn’t the first time he’d ever brought home a lost animal and begged to keep it. Clark seemed to have a penchant for collecting strays.

 

“I don’t see why not.” Martha allowed. “as long as you make sure to look after him.”

 

Just then the front door opened and Jonathan came in, tired and dusty from a long day of work. He saw the cat on the counter and did a double take.

 

“What in the hell is that?”

“It’s a cat, Jonathan.” Martha said patiently.

Jonathan leaned down, squinting face to face with the cat.

“Doesn’t look like any cat I’ve ever seen.” he muttered.

The cat hissed at him. Jonathan leapt back in surprise and then narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Where’d you find the dang thing?”

“In the river.” Clark said simply.

Jonathan sighed. “Well do we have to keep it on the kitchen counter? Where we put our _**food**_?”

“Well it’s not like he’s going to shed.” Martha chuckled.

All the same, Clark picked up the squirming bundle of towels and deposited him on the couch (with only minimal mewls of protest from said bundle).

 

* * *

 

 

The next day Clark woke up to the cat watching him with wide, curious eyes from the top of his dresser. His eyes followed him as he yawned, got out of bed, and got dressed. Even when he grabbed his backpack and started to walk out the front door, the cat tried to follow him out but he shooed him back inside. “I’m going to high school. TRUST me, I wouldn’t be going if I didn’t have to. So you stay here and wait for me.”

 

The school day felt long and Clark tripped over his own feet in front of Lana again. Whitney and his friends laughed at him. So he spent the rest of the day with a dark cloud over his head and feeling glum. It got even worse when his teacher handed him back a biology exam with a C- on it.

 

He trudged home with his feet dragging, not even bothering to run through the corn field.

 

By the time he got home though he was greeted by a friendly meow when he entered his barn loft.

 

“You’re lucky you don’t ever have to deal with girl trouble.” Clark explained to the cat who nuzzled the crown of his head against Clark’s chest sympathetically.

 

Clark smiled and pet him. “Guess you’re my best friend now.”

 

Clark spent the next hour talking aloud to the cat about all his problems. His unrequited love with Lana, his problems with Whitney, even his little arguments and annoyances with Pete and Chloe.

 

“hey you’re a pretty good listener.” he said when he was done.

 

The cat ducked his head underneath the bottom of Clark’s sweatshirt and burrowed underneath it, poking out at the neck hole next to Clark’s head, giving him a few licks on his jawline.

 

* * *

 

 

Chloe came to the barn after school a few days later to study.

 

“is that the new kitty?” she said with excitement, dropping her bag on the floor.

 

The cat’s ears perked up and it hunched down, defensive and eyeing her warily.

 

“He’s kind of ugly.” Chloe said bluntly. “Like- he’s all naked looking.”

 

“Hey!” Clark said, affronted, protectively picking up the cat and cradling him against his chest. “Don’t say that! He’s a nice cat.”

 

In contrast to Clark’s words, the cat hissed menacingly at Chloe, baring tiny but sharp looking fangs.

 

“Riiight.” Chloe said skeptically.

 

“He’s just hissing because you hurt his feelings.” Clark defended his pet, stroking his back until he was purring again. “He’s sensitive.”

 

Clark smiled, letting the cat claw his way up his shirt and brush his nose against Clark’s jawline.

 

“I think he’s really cute.” Clark said.

 

“Does he even have a name?” Chloe asked, coming to stand next to Clark and also petting the cat (though it seemed to give her a warning glare).

 

“Haven’t thought of one.” Clark said with a shrug.

 

“How about ‘baldy’?” Chloe giggled.

 

The cats’ ears pricked up and it made a noise that could only be described as an indignant huff before jumping out of Clark’s arms and landing gracefully on the floor to trot away to pout.

 

“I don’t think he likes that name.”

 

* * *

 

 

Despite that, the nickname did end up sticking. Martha was partially responsible as she had laughed out loud when Clark told her the name Chloe had suggested and immediately and affectionately started referring to the cat as such. Then it sort of just caught on in the household.

 

Baldy was a rather introverted animal and at first seemed slightly wary of the Kents other than Clark. He refused to eat the cat food that Martha had bought at the store, which caused some concern at first. But he seemed to have no problem surreptitiously stealing food from the kitchen counter or even the dinner table before darting off with his prize. Eventually Martha just ended up feeding him scraps whenever she cooked. This seemed to earn her Baldy’s trust as he let her pet him and didn’t hide or slink away the way he did when Jonathan was in the room.

 

Clark still seemed to be the stray’s favorite.

 

At the end of the first week of having the cat in the house, he and Clark were inseparable. When Clark came home, the Baldy’s ears perked up and he leapt off the couch, running to greet him, meowing and pawing at his leg.

 

When Clark studied, the cat climbed up the edge of the couch and peered over Clark’s shoulder as if he was reading along.

 

Even at night he would curl up at the foot of Clark’s bed and fall asleep.

 

But on Friday morning over breakfast Martha gasped when she opened the paper.

 

“Clark, I think I found out where Baldy is from.”

 

Opening the paper up on the kitchen table, there was a small notice on the page that Lionel Luthor, the fertilizer king and multi billionaire, had had his most beloved pet sphynx cat go missing over the last week and that there was a $50,000 reward for finding him.

 

“Well if anyone in Smallville was going to have an exotic pet I guess it would be him.” Martha sighed.

 

The cat was perched on the table looking at the newspaper as if reading it carefully but Clark thought he looked somewhat morose somehow. He pointed to the picture of Lionel Luthor accompanied with the ad.

 

“Is that your owner? Do you want to go home?” he asked the cat directly. But when he tried to pet his head he shyed away and jumped off the table. Clark watched him as he slinked away.

 

“I know it’s hard, honey, but he should go back to his home.” Martha said gently.

 

“I don’t know. He seems pretty happy here.” Clark said wistfully. “Besides, some rich billionaire probably never actually spends time with his pets. Baldy's probably lonely living there.”

 

“On the other hand” Martha said, “Maybe Lionel Luthor is the lonely one. And he needs his pet back to keep him company.”

 

Clark frowned and rested his chin in his hands. “Cat just didn’t seem happy to see his picture… and I know he’d recognize him. He’s a very smart cat.”

 

“Well…” Martha said after a moment. “I trust your instincts, Clark. I know you’ll do the right thing.” she smiled.

 

* * *

 

 

“Baldy? Baaaldy” Clark called out, peeking under couch cushions and behind furniture.

 

When he finally found the cat he was curled up in his bed.

 

“There you are” Clark said, flopping down next to him. “Don’t you want to go back to your home? That big mansion has to be plusher than hanging out in my barn.”

 

Baldy made a sad mewing and nuzzled his face against Clark’s shoulder.

 

“I don’t want you to go either.” Clark said. “You’re like my new best friend.” he stroked a fingertip across the back of the cat’s head.

 

“But…” he sighed. “I think my mom’s right. You probably are homesick even if you don’t show it. And want to go back to eating cat food with gold flecks in it or whatever it is that billionaire gives you.”

 

The cat responded with a very woeful “meow.”

 

“I’ll really miss you. But I think it’s what’s best for you.” Clark said and then leaned down and gave the cat a little kiss on the top of his head.

 

Suddenly there was a bang and the room filled up for a moment with purple light and smoke. Clark jumped back in surprise, coughing and waving his arm in front of his face.

 

When the air cleared, where the hairless cat was, instead was an adult man. Completely naked except for holding up one of Clark’s blankets from his bed to cover himself, and totally bald. He had the same sharp, grey blue eyes that the cat had had. And even his mouth was a perfect curved cupid’s bow- almost catlike.

 

Clark’s mouth dropped open.

 

But the other man swallowed, as if attempting to maintain some dignity said stiffly “You probably have a lot of questions about this….”

 

Clark’s mouth continued to hang open uselessly. His brain wasn’t processing what had just happened and it seemed the needle was stuck at looking this mostly naked man in his room up and down. He was tall and lean, like the cat, and didn’t seem to have any body hair.

 

“Um… before I explain, do you think I could borrow something to wear?”

 

Clark finally seemed to regain his ability to connect thoughts together and he nodded, grabbing a T-shirt and sweat pants from his dresser and turning the other way after handing them to the stranger.

 

The man was much smaller than Clark and was swimming in the clothes, his arms looking like twigs poking out of the sleeves of the Smallville High school tee. But it was enough to cover him up and he sat on the edge of Clark’s bed while Clark stood awkwardly in front of him.

 

He explained that only a few weeks before, a witch named Genevieve Teague had put a curse on him as revenge for something his father had done. He was doomed to live as an animal until he could be transformed with a kiss of selfless love. He’d gone off on his own, frustrated to be caught in the house while his father who couldn’t seem to muster any such kiss and who kept trying to recruit doctors and scientists to work on him. That’s when he’d accidentally fallen into the river and been saved by Clark. And when Clark had been prepared to give him away, his love must have been selfless enough to break the curse.

 

“That’s uh… very fairy tale.” Clark stammered, blushing deep red that he’d unwittingly played the prince charming.

 

“You honestly are taking this pretty well. I, for one, was a lot more shocked to find out that magic was real.” the bald man said incredulously.

 

“Well… let’s just say I’ve seen some things that were pretty unbelievable in my life.” Clark muttered, scratching the back of his head self consciously.

 

"I probably shouldn't have taken advantage of your kindness staying here but... I don't know, it was actually a welcome reprieve from staying at the mansion- even if i had to be a cat- if you'll believe that." the man said sheepishly.

 

“I’m sorry we’ve been calling you ‘baldy’ this whole time” Clark laughed.

 

The man smirked, amused. “I’ve been called worse.”

 

“What’s your real name anyway?”

 

“Lex.” he offered his hand to be shaken. “Lex Luthor.”

 

Clark smiled, shaking it.

 

“You know… I feel better giving you back to your father knowing there’s a chance I might still be able to visit you.” Clark said shyly.

 

And a warm smile broke across the other man’s face.

 

“Of course, Clark.” he said. “After all, it’s like you said- you’re like my best friend now.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I sort of just wanted to get this one out of my system so its not very polished. 
> 
> I think it would be cute if Clark turned into a golden retriever. Wouldn’t it be cute if Lex was walking around the mansion with a fluffy, friendly, tail wagging, golden trotting along after him and wanting to play fetch all the time? 
> 
> Clark is a farm boy who seems very down to earth so to have a sleek, exotic, quiet, pet like a sphinx cat seems very contrary and unexpected. And Lex is very elegant and debonair so its strange to see him with a big, rambunctious, lovey, pet. That’s why they make such a good ship, though!!


End file.
